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This Saturday, February 26, 2011 (TOMORROW) for approximately 4 hours, you should go on a tour of the local craft brewing industry.

The Washington Beer Commission organized an Open House of sorts where local breweries open their doors to beer lovers providing them with the good stuff to make this an epic Saturday afternoon. From 12PM-4PM you can plan your route or pick an area of Washington to tour:

This event will showcase a number of special beers, beer pairings and surprises at many locations. You will just have to go and find out what is in store. Don’t forget this Saturday is the Grand Opening of American Brewing Co.

This event is free but beer prices at each location will apply. Drive safely or don’t drive at all and ENJOY!

One of several beer fests in Seattle throughout the year, Belgium Fest is the first in 2011. On January 22, 2011 this festival, run by the Washington Beer Commission will begin. Due to the high demand of this event, the venue has been moved to Magnuson Park (it will be heated, do not worry).

Word on the street is that tickets are already being sold at an alarming rate, so go online NOW and secure your spot. This is a festival that requires some advance commitment. Waiting until the day of might not be the best idea. $30.00 advance and $35.00 at the door, if available. As always, the designated driver ticket is $5.00 and only available at the door- includes free water and soda.

You pick one of two sessions on Saturday, January 22, 2011-

Session 1: 12:00-4:00 p.m.
Session 2: 5:30-9:30 p.m.

The Workshop at Magnuson Park
6310 NE 74th St., Seattle, WA

Now for the important stuff. The beers. For now all I have are the breweries, but hope to have a list of all the beers in the next week or so.

The moment you enter the front door your nostrils are greeted, pleasantly I must add, with the scent of fried mushrooms. I didn’t indulge in any of the fried appetizer options, but I must admit it was a bit of a challenge to hold back with that scent forever looming.

BAR OPINION:

Just over 10 miles north of the Beer Blotter home base, just on the peripheral of the Jackson Park Golf Course in Lake City, lies a quintessential Seattle dive that we have never before visited. On this day, we changed that.

Yesterday was a lazy Sunday. For me, it started out with a drive out to beautiful Madison to stroll about Madison Park Beach and get some pizza at Mad Pizza (which is damn good, by the way…some seriously unique pies. I had the Sybil’s Breakdown – gorgonzola, apples, cashews, mandarin oranges!). Then an Anacortes IPA at Fiddler’s Inn. I was with my girlfriend, who either drinks whiskey or imperial stout. Since The Fid wasn’t supplying us with either, we departed after just one, but we had yet to have our fill for the day.

I then remembered that my boss, who, like my girlfriend, lives in Lake City, had just given me some serious shit for never visiting The Caroline. He told me that if I liked dive bars, The Caroline was not to be missed. The time seemed perfect to heed his recommendation. I’m so glad I did!

From the outside, you’d never know The Caroline was a bar were it not for the neon beer signs in the windows and the parking lot. I actually drove right past it my first time down 15th Ave. There is no sign and the building just looks like a cottage on a golf course. It isn’t until you approach the front door that you are finally assured that this building before you is indeed Caroline’s Tavern – very small lettering on the door tells you so.

As you enter you find the pool table directly in front of you. The largest table in the room is to the right of the pool table, creating a partition that separates the long bar from the rest of the room. The bar extends along the entire eastern wall of the small “house”. Stools line the full length of it, and are warmed by the extended family of local regulars. I was a bit surprised by how many people were there at 6pm on a Sunday. Behind the bar, a slew of pull tabs (yup, it’s a dive), five draft handles, wine, liquor (not a tavern, misnomer) and a very kind bartender, accepting of the new faces.

Those gentlemen flanking the door will keep you in line.

I ordered a can of Hamm’s, you know, because it’s that kind of place. It was $1.75. Wow! We moseyed our way down the length of the bar and took a right just beyond it’s culmination. This lead us to the wrought iron enclosed back deck area. Here we found two large, circular porch tables surrounded by outdoor, plastic chairs. It was quite clear that these were communal tables. Our addition to the deck, upon first appearance, seemed to bring the group count to 4. 4 groups, 2 tables…this is the kind of place where you grab a chair right next to a stranger and join in the conversation. It wasnt long until we were “welcome[d] home” by the regulars. It seems that this is a traditional phrase at The Caroline. “Welcome home”. To say the very least, home was quite an experience.

We chatted with a bricklayer who was drinking Busch Light, a carpenter who was sipping on Jagermeister and pounding bottles of Bud, a rapper and producer who, well I don’t know what the hell he was intoxicated with, and the list goes on… We had entered a very diverse world of locals, who all seemed to know each other in some way or another. Well, they knew each other as regulars at The Caroline, and it was quite a social experiment to enter the pack.

A lot of conversations came and went and a lot of rounds were purchased for us by them and for them by us. Though it was inevitable that when dealing with older, blue-collar men, there is bound to be uncomfortable moments of dirty jokes and the subtle revealing of bigotry, I still walked away with a fond feeling of family and community – something that is becoming more and more rare in the big city. My personal favorite moment was when Bob, the bricklayer, teamed up with Big C, the rapper, for a stunning musical collaboration that paired country music with human beatbox. Quite possibly the best part about this display was the fact that no one in the place seemed to bat an eyelash, as if it was just Bob and Big C being Bob and Big C. Meanwhile, me and my crew were literally crying with laughter. Brilliant!

In the end, I must hand it to my boss. He apparently know a good dive when he sees one. If dive bars are your type of thing, head to The Caroline in Lake City…you will be welcomed home.

This coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday is the WA Brewers Fest. You should go. Support our great state’s breweries, both new and old.

Very few states in this great US of A have so many exciting breweries. Unless you are some sort of professional brewery visitor and all you do from Monday through Friday is travel from brewery to brewery, trying everything available, there is no way you have tried all of the beers available at this fest. Get out, educate yourself, have fun, challenge your palate, and be responsible.

The following is the complete list of beers available for taste throughout the weekend. Well, I guess they won’t all be available throughout the weekend, some are Friday only (indicated with **). I’ve chosen to steer clear of these, for the most part, for several reasons. The biggest reason being that most of these beers have rarely been seen before, if at all, and thus I have very little information about them. If they sound good, and most do, and you are able to get a pour, sip it down and let us know what you think.

Of the remainder, I’ve highlighted the ones that I feel are most worth checking out. If you know about something special that I glossed over, please feel free to contact us.

Alpine Brewing– Oroville, WA
Alpine Pilsner (Pilsner)Alpine HefeWeizen (HefeWeizen)– Alpine and Chuckanut are always battling it out for German style superiority. A hefe is one of the very best styles for outdoor summer drinking.

Big Time Brewery– Seattle, WA
Wheat beer (American Wheat)Trombipulator (Belgian Tripel)– In case you didn’t know, bb.com has a strong affinity for Belgian ales. Big Time is quite possibly Seattle’s best brewery, but it often slips under the radar with its U-District hideout and lack of bottle distribution. I’ll take a little slice of Europe in the Emerald City any chance I get.
Ave Rat Malt Liquor (Malt Liquor)

Chuckanut Brewery & Kitchen– Bellingham, WA
Kolsch (German Ale)Pilsner (German Pilsner)– It is extremely rare that I recommend a lager of any kind, especially a pilsner, but chances are good that you will find no better brew in the style than that of Chuckanut.

Foggy Noggin Brewing*- Bothell, WA
Bit O’ Beaver (English Bitter)Christmas Duck (Porter)– Here is a good chance to check out one of our newest breweries. At the very least, these guys seem to know how to name a beer. I’m simultaneously hungry and thirsty right now.Kastrated Dawg** (Strong Ale)

Georgetown Brewing*- Seattle, WA
Manny’s Pale Ale (Pale Ale)Lucille (IPA) – Those of you who read our work with any regularity know that we have done some gushing about this one. Timperial has yet to try it. It will be sampled.
Roger’s Pilsner (Pilsner)
Cask Porter** (Porter)

Hale’s Ales Brewery*- Seattle, WASupergoose (IPA) – Chances are good that you have had this one before. Its presence on the market is very strong. If by chance you haven’t, please do yourself a favor. This beer is really good.
IX Gold on Sour Cherries (Belgian Strong Golden)
Kolsch (Kolsch)
SBW (Double IPA)Saizon** (Saison) – Another saison for us to try. Let’s see how a Fremont brewery interprets the farmhouse style.

Lazy Boy Brewing*- Everett, WA– This is what they call “shameless self promotion”. But seriously, all of these beers are delicious. If for no other reason, get the chili beers so that all of the pain Shawn and I go through manually chopping those peppers is worth it. Dry, cracked brewer hands + Scoville units = burning for days!

ColoradoNew Belgium Brewing– Fort Collins, CO
Ranger IPA (IPA)Trip VI (Spring Citrus Pale Ale)– In case you have been living under a rock for the past few years, the Trip series is a collaboration with Seattle’s own Elysian Brewing. These rarely strike out. Spring Citrus sounds really refreshing.

IllinoisGoose Island Beer Co. – Chicago, ILMatilda (Belgian Style Ale)– I’m kind of amazed that these guys are going to be at the fest. They are clearly quite serious about pushing into the WA market. That’s very fortunate for us. Goose Island makes killer brews and Matilda is no exception.

Deschutes Brewery– Bend, OR
Twilight Sumemer Ale (Light Ale)Hop in the Dark (Cascadian Dark Ale) – CDA is another way of saying black IPA, or balanced to the extreme. You can never go wrong with Deschutes.

“More beer please” is what we plan on saying all day on Saturday, January 23, 2010, as Belgiumfest begins in the Seattle neighborhood of Georgetown. Belgium beer styles vary from pale lagers to blondes to lambics, Saisons and Flemish reds. This country knows their beer, as some of beer brewing’s origins date back to the Middle Ages in Belgium. With over 125 breweries in this magnificent country, Belgiumfest 2010 is the perfect kick off to the countdown of Beer Blotter’s trip to Belgium in March.

Belgiumfest will take place at the Engine Room located on Airport Way South. Divided into two sessions, 12-4PM and 6-10PM, this event focuses on local, Washington breweries that feature Belgium style brews.

There are so many more breweries, 20 in total and most are presenting 2 or more Belgium beers. Tickets are $30.00 in advance and $35.00 at the door. What does that get you?? A 4oz tasting glass and ten taste. Extra taste are available for purchase. NOTE: ONLY CASH AND CHECKS ARE ACCEPTED DAY OF FOR TICKET PURCHASE.